Pride of America Cruise Ship

First Glimpse

Norwegian Cruise Line Pride of America, now in relatively final stages of construction at a German shipyard, may well be one of the mostly highly anticipated new ship debuts of the 21st century.

The ship was originally designed by the now-defunct American Classic Voyages, which aimed to build the first ship in half a century in a U.S. shipyard. The significance, beyond the patriotism, was that a vessel waiving a U.S. flag (and thus able to avoid Jones Act-related calls to foreign ports) could sail all-Hawaii itineraries. Alas, the company filed bankruptcy after September 11, leaving the ship only partially built.

NCL ultimately snapped up the unfinished ship, meant to serve as its flagship in Hawaii, and barged its hull to a German shipyard. Work progressed until yet another tragic occurrence -- a severe storm in early 2004 at Lloyd Werft's Bremerhaven shipyard swamped the vessel. Pride of America was flooded up to the third deck and sank to the bottom of the shallow 11-meter deep water-bed.

To see a gallery of pics showing the construction of the ship, go here.

As a result of this -- and other difficulties, such as the shipyard's bankruptcy following -- Pride of America's debut was delayed for nearly a year. The good news? It's definitely on track for its June 2005 premier.

Pride of America is the first new-build ever to be created specifically for Hawaii -- which means that design elements take that state's weather and scenery into consideration. Balcony cabins are plentiful (and affordable) and there are more options than usual for dining al fresco.